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Rape on the Reservation (The New York Times)

Posted onMarch 4, 2013

In a February 26 New York Times opinion piece, author Louise Erdrich ’76 called on U.S. House Republicans to set aside their objections to stronger protections in the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) for Native Americans and other vulnerable populations.

“The Justice Department reports that one in three Native women is raped over her lifetime, while other sources report that many Native women are too demoralized to report rape,” Erdrich writes. “Perhaps this is because federal prosecutors decline to prosecute 67 percent of sexual abuse cases, according to the Government Accountability Office.”

(On February 28, the House reauthorized the Senate version of VAWA with enhanced protections for Native Americans, undocumented immigrants, and gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender youth, defeating the House version endorsed by conservatives.)